An incredibly affordable solid-top with impeccable Yamaha quality.

Yamaha's FG700S Folk Acoustic Guitar is a reasonably priced entry-level acoustic guitar featuring one of the most popular tonewoods - solid Sitka spruce - for the top. This gives you a nice mellow tone with a slower response, and keeps the guitar nice and lightweight, a combination that is ideal for a beginner trying to find their way around the instrument. The nato back and sides also keeps the guitar lightweight and inexpensive while not sacrifcing tone. Other features of the FG700S include a rosewood fingerboard and bridge, black and white body binding, die-cast tuners, and a tortoise pickguard. Case sold separately.

Check the drop-down menu to the right to select between Natural or Sunburst finishes.

Bought it after bumming friends' guitars for years. I'm usually a bass player. This instrument is great for getting into guitar: excellent setup, solid tone (I got this one when I found out Elliott Smith used an old but standard Yamaha), has responded fine when I mess with alternative tunings (even worked down at open C). I've played and heard a lot of nice guitars – I bet you could fool not a few people with this fantastic bargain instrument.

I am a collector of high-end and mid-range guitars and was out of town for a death in the family with no guitar, so I stopped by a competitor's to find something relatively inexpensive to play for the duration of my trip. I picked up just about every guitar in the acoustic room and then came across this instrument.

I've known that Yamaha makes great instruments at a low price-point, and decided that I'd try several out for size and sound and I kept coming back to this guitar because the sound was so rich. The instrument rings out so nicely, and the guitar felt good in my smallish hands.

I noticed another Yamaha that was a little less expensive but the laminated top was already splitting. This model of guitar has a solid spruce top -- much better resonance and sound and it will hold up far better than the other model I noted. The rosewood fretboard is a delight to play on and I was surprised at how well it was finished. The frets were smooth, even -- the craftsmanship was great. I often see guitars from other manufacturers at this price where the fingerboards aren't even cleaned from after the fretting process, and the workmanship is shoddy. Not this guitar!!

I have many high-end acoustics, and while this guitar doesn't quite match some of those instruments because of the tonewoods that were used, it comes really close. I think that this guitar will be my go-to instrument even for doing some recording. It's set-up was perfect and the action was low - not fret buzz - and I just couldn't put it down. I was going to buy a GS mini, but ended up with this guitar because the sound just blew me away. It was just what I needed to get me through a difficult weekend, and it is a guitar that will stay in my collection and one that I will be proud to own and play. I bought the sand burst finish and it is gorgeous.

I am not sure why the first reviewer gave the instrument such an outstanding review but only marked one star, but perhaps someone could fix that because it skews the rating. It is clear that the reviewer meant to give it a higher rating.

Sometimes I don't know how Yamaha does it. They seem to consistently make some of the best guitars at whatever price point they're at. The FG700S is no exception. I own six Yamaha's, including two of their handcrafted ones, as well as two vintage Martins &amp; two vintage Gibson's. I recently bought the FG700S as a present for my daughter. I was amazed at the quality of construction as well as the quality of the woods, the finish, even the tuning keys, AND you get a solid top, all for a great price! It's not that hard to find this combination of features and quality at twice the price or more, but at this price? If everybody looking for an entry level guitar knew about this one, no other company would be able to sell anything. AND, this guitar is good enough that it will take you well past being an intermediate player before you'll start longing for something better. The solid top should open up over time and sound even better as it gets older. Most entry level guitars do not come with a great neck setup right out of the box, so make sure that the store you buy it from will set the neck up for you, included in the purchase price. The store where I bought mine had 12 FG700S's in stock, all of which I played (drove the sales clerk nuts). Some had very good setups right out of the box, and some sounded better than others, unfortunately those two qualities didn't always come on the same guitar! I selected the best sounding one, and requested a neck setup, which I begrudgingly got. You literally can NOT go wrong buying this guitar!

I bought this guitar sight unseen on the internet. When it arived I put a new set of strings on and it came with a hex wrench to adjust the action. After adjusting the action as low as it could go and adding the new strings I was ready to rock. The solid spruce top fives it a very bright tone. It doesn't quite have the sustain to do "Blackbird" by the Beatles correctly so I think I might buy a pickup and an amp for it. I played guitar for 20 years and had some real nice ones and this guitar compares favorably with the best of them.

My personal qualifications for writing this review are "none". I'm a total and complete beginner. However, I know what I like to hear, and that's what counts for me. I tried several guitars before making my selection and this one had the cleanest and longest sustaining notes of any of them.

Also, several people at work play and I respect their opinions. They "tried it out" when I brought it back into the office and all were very enthusiastic. One said it sounded better than any of his guitars that cost at least 2-3 times as much. Another compared it favorably with his $700 Taylor. The third, a professional bass player, whipped a pick out of his wallet, sat on the floor crosslegged, and proceeded to go crazy.

Bought this for a 12 year old beginner and chose it over about 8 other guitars in price range. To my delight the action is as good as my Martin and the sound is impressive given the price tag. Good base and full in the middle...very bright and crisp. Good machine heads, good looking finish. Highly recommended!

I bought mine(with a case) in LA, took it home. Changed the strings and have been playing and learning on it ever since. A good clear sound, keeps in tune and it is a fun guitar to play on. A good beginners guitar, with a well-shaped neck. Sounds fine strumming and picking. Recommended.Change the factory strings ASAP, though.

This guitar is now my third guitar and I have had it for about three months now. All I can say is that it really rocks. This guitar has a really bright sound that was almost identical to the $3,000 that I really wanted but didn't have the money for. All of the mechanics and "build of the guitar" are flawless. I have had to retune the guitar only a few times these three months, it really holds a pitch well. I really recommend this guitar to anyone. It is a whole lot of fun and sounds great.

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